The Body Thief (16 page)

From behind a cover of thick vines and cypress trees he watched them at play in the gardens of Sommerset. His eyes, small and bright, studied the Winterbottom children with jealous fascination. They had everything he required—health…youth…fortune.

He looked up at the full moon. It was late. Clutching the cylinder containing the powdery remains of his benefactor, Silas Winterbottom, the ancient doctor turned away and headed back into the depths of the darkened forest.

He had work to do.

This tale was inspired by a book entitled
Aunt Jane’s Nieces
written nearly a century ago. I loved the story so much that I set out to write a new version of this delightfully old-fashioned book and everything was going along swimmingly until the young Winterbottoms and their revolting uncle hijacked the story. Suddenly I found myself writing a far more sinister story involving deadly reptiles, murderous villains, a secret assassin, and three young cousins fighting for their very lives. Naturally, I was thrilled!

Despite the change of direction, it was the magic of L. Frank Baum that inspired me, after a lengthy spell in the wilderness, to get back to the keyboard and try again. And so I thank him.

I owe a huge thank-you to the entire team at Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, but most especially to Rebecca Frazer for all her efforts on behalf of this book. Thanks also to Troy Cummings for his brilliant illustrations. Finally, a very special thank-you to my agent Ann Behar, whose boundless optimism and tenacity have made my literary dreams come true.

Stephen M. Giles lives near the beach in Sydney. He has worked as a film classifier and a market researcher, but these days he spends most of his time wandering around his imagination—which is where he met the Winterbottoms.